Knighthood
by wasup1212121
Summary: Tino is working as a stableboy for a certain knight, and he can't help but fantasize about him in every waking moment, despite of what their society thinks of it. Sometimes, love works in very mysterious ways...
1. We Meet Again

Tino's heart raced with both excitement and nervousness— he wasn't sure if he was ready for this.

Of course he was a very good stable boy; after taking care of his uncle's horses practically since he was about six years old, he knew the ins and outs of horse care. However, this was the first time he would be taking care of a horse for a _knight_.

Knights' horses needed to be very well taken care of; they were used for everything, from parades to tournaments to full-out combat, and each horse was different for each situation.

He sat outside of the barn, waiting for the supposed knight to arrive. Tino wondered what he would be like.

_A lot of knights are kind of fit, aren't they? But they aren't really that superior… I mean, there's nothing to be nervous about; they're just regular people that happen to have trained for years for battle… right?_

Tino had no idea what to expect; he grew up in a tiny village away from any kingdoms for most of his life. Once and a while, one of the King's knights would come to collect tax payments for the kingdom. Tino always remembered them to be scary-looking as a young boy; tall men clad in metal, with swords by their sides and riding the biggest horses that Tino had ever seen.

He only knew the basics; he knew that rich young boys were sent to live with a lord by the time they were about seven years old to become a page. As they learned different skills, their rank reached to squire by about fourteen, which is when they helped the knight more and more, until he himself became a knight at about twenty-one.

When Tino was about thirteen years old, a knight came into the village to collect taxes. As he rode around the village, Tino, who was unaware that he was here, was playing a game of hide-and-seek with his friends. He darted out into the street to find the perfect hiding spot behind a large barrel, but did not see the knight on his horse. The horse lifted its feet up in the air, threatening to crush Tino in an instant. He was suddenly knocked down out of the way before the horse came back down.

Tino blinked in shock as he looked at his rescuer; the boy as much taller than he was and had an intense, deathly glare with his blue-green eyes. Tino shrunk back in fear, but the boy said nothing. Silently, he reached out his hand towards Tino.

The smaller boy hesitated; he was too scared of him to move.

"We're leaving, now; get back on the horse." The knight barked above them. The silent boy nodded and climbed on, riding off from the village.

He never saw the boy again.

Tino shook his head; thinking about all of those memories at once made him dizzy. However, he never forgot about him, or about the slightly hurt look on his face when Tino didn't grab his hand; he always felt a little guilty for that.

_I must have given him the wrong idea _Tino thought. He sighed and straightened out his tunic; he had to at least look slightly presentable for a knight; after all, they _were _sons of rich nobles.

Tino saw a horse in the distance riding up pretty quickly. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and before he knew it, he came face-to-face with the knight.

Well, sort of.

Tino was surprised to find that the man had his helmet on along with his light armor, as there were no parades, festivals, or battles going on.

"S'rry, I w's training." The man mumbled, getting off of his horse. Tino raised his eyebrows; he was _gigantic_, taller than any man Tino had ever seen. The knight turned towards him and stopped in his tracks. "… Y'u look f'miliar…"

"D-do I?" Tino laughed nervously. "I doubt I've ever met you; I'm not from around here." The man took his helmet off and Tino nearly fainted;

A pair of glaring, sharp, blue-green eyes stared him down—_very _familiar eyes.

_It can't be… _


	2. Why Me?

"I-it's _you_!" Tino exclaimed, pointing at the man. "You're the one that saved me so many years ago! You're the squire that came into my village!" Tino babbled. He couldn't help but notice that the tall, skinny boy had turned into a very handsome, well-built man. The glasses on his face were different, but the same intimidating look stayed plastered on his face from the very day they met.

"So yer m' st'ble boy? F'nny how th'ngs w'rk out." The man said.

"Y-yeah, I suppose so. I'm Tino, but I never actually caught your name…"

"B'rwald." He said.

"Sir Berwald, I—"

"J'st B'rwald is f'ne." Berwald said. Tino blinked; wasn't it considered disrespect to call a knight simply by his name without the proper title?

_I guess not _he thought, shrugging.

"Anyways… Berwald, I'll be taking care of your horses from now on, and I promise that I'm very good with them and you don't have to worry about a thing." Tino forced a smile, despite how on the inside he just wanted to die; out of all the knights out there, he had to be _Berwald's _stable boy?

_What if he' s still mad at me for what I did—well, didn't do, technically—and just doesn't trust me? I need the money for my family back home! _

Deep in the back of Tino's mind, he wasn't really silently begging for Berwald's trust for the money; he really wanted to get to know him.

Berwald raised an eyebrow before ruffling Tino's hair with his fingers quickly. Tino blushed furiously at the touch.

"I th'nk I c'n tr'st ya." Berwald said. "Th's is Emb'r, m' jousting h'rse." He patted the horse's back gently. It was smoldering, smoky gray color with fierce brown eyes, one similar to Tino's uncle's horse back at home. "M' b'ttle h'rse is in th' b'rn. T'ke g'd c're of th'm for me." Berwald began to walk off.

"Wait!" Tino exclaimed. "Where am I going to be living?" Berwald turned and gave him a puzzled look. "I… uh, I just got here this morning." Tino muttered. Berwald pointed to the left at a rather large-looking hut.

"Th're." he said.

"Really?" Tino asked, blinking a few times.

"Y'h."

"I'll get right to work!" Tino said quickly before taking Ember's reins and gently pulling her into the barn.

Tino shut the barn doors and pressed his back against the wall, sweat dripping from his forehead.

_My God, he's changed so much _Tino thought. He shook his head. _What am I thinking? I'm _not _attracted to Berwald! It's… it's ungodly! _

Ember whinnied, interrupting Tino's conflicting thoughts. He sighed.

"Come on, girl, let's get you some fresh hay…"

…..

After spending the afternoon cleaning the stables and changing the horses' food and water, Tino was exhausted. The journey here from his village for the past three days was tiring enough, but the poor Finn's energy was now spent. He trudged to the hut, practically dragging his feet against the dirt.

"Ughh, my back…" he groaned, opening the door. He straightened out immediately seeing someone he didn't expect to.

"Sir—I mean, Berwald, what are you doing in here?" Tino asked.

"I l've h're." he said simply.

"Huh? Wait, do I have the wrong hut?" Tino exclaimed, his cheeks flaming scarlet.

"No, yer r'ght." He confirmed.

"B-but, I thought that… well… knights had their own place, and that lowly stable boys were supposed to live with the other serfs?"

"No r'm f'r you. You're by y'rself, an'ways; y'u c'n st'y h're." Tino's lilac eyes widened in both panic and surprise.

"A-Are you sure? I mean, I c-can just sleep in the barn if you want me to." He stammered, running his fingers through his light blonde hair, a habit he's had since he was a kid when he got nervous. Berwald shook his head.

"St'y h're." It was almost a command, and Tino definitely didn't want to disobey this strong, gigantic knight with years of combat training; the last thing he wanted to do was get Berwald angry.

"Y-yes, sir—Berwald!" He added quickly in the end. "But… erm… there's only one bed that I can see…"

"I kn'w." Berwald said.

"So… hm… ooh, this floor space looks comfy!" Tino made a beeline for the only part of the floor covered in a rug and started to put his stuff down.

"Y're not sl'ping on my ant'que r'g." Berwald grumbled. Tino jumped off of it like it was bonfire about to burn him. "Sl'p h're." he said, patting the bed space next to him. Tino could've sworn his heart stopped for a few seconds.

"B-but where will _you _sleep?" Tino sputtered.

"… On th' oth'r s'de." Berwald said, seemingly unfazed at the fact that Tino seemed horrified.

"Sh-sharing a bed?" He squeaked. Berwald shrugged, as if this was the complete norm for all men everywhere.

_For all I know, it could be _Tino thought miserably.

"Um… okay…" Tino said timidly, slowly sitting down on the left half of the bed.

"G' w'sh up, f'rst." Berwald said. Tino jumped to his feet in embarrassment; he should've known better, after all, he was covered in dirt from working in the stables!

"Sorry, I'll be right back!" The poor frightened man's energy kicked back up in an instant as he high-tailed out of the hut and to the river. When he reached the bank, his heart sped up enormously, and he knew it wasn't just from the running.

_Sharing a bed with _that _man? I can't do it, not after what Nickolas said about my snoring problem back at home! I'd be dead before morning! _

The Finn shook a little.

_What did I do to deserve this, God? Why me? Why am I being tormented by these… feelings for Berwald? He's so scary… but I can't help but think about him even more than I did before! _

Frustrated, Tino shed his clothing quickly and jumped in the water, the cool water instantly relaxing him a little. He dove underneath the surface, rinsing the dirt in his hair.

_At least I can take a few minutes to sit here and forget about him for a little bit… yeah, just a few minutes…_

Tino rested his head in his arms at the edge of the riverbank with fatigue consuming him quickly.

_Just a few minutes…_

…..

Tino's head felt heavy as tried to life it, but he couldn't deny that he felt very well-rested. He felt strange; this didn't feel like what he fell asleep in…

With memories suddenly hitting him, he bolted upright, remember that he had fallen asleep at the edge of the riverbank with his body in the water. He was surprised, however, to find that he was in Berwald's hut and on his bed.

_He must have found me when it got late… _Tino thought. Suddenly, he blushed beet red. _Which means… he found me while I was bathing… oh God, I wasn't wearing anything!_

Tino just wanted to die right there.

_Berwald saw me naked! And he carried me back to his house! I don't think this day could get any worse…_

Tino felt a little chilled as the blanket slipped down onto the bed. He glanced down and saw that he _still _wasn't wearing anything. He groaned in sheer embarrassment, but nearly cried out when he looked to the right, finding the said man who took him back _right next to him_.

Tino nearly fell off of the bed before he realized that the man was asleep. Berwald clutched the pillow almost as if he were protecting it, and his mouth hung open slightly as very light snores came from deep in the back of his throat.

The Finn stared; Berwald was downright _frightening _when he was awake, but he looked so vulnerable in his sleep, almost…

_Cute? _Tino thought. He had this strange urge to touch the man while he couldn't do anything about it. Despite the warnings yelling in his mind, Tino reached out cautiously and stroked the man's cheek very gently. His skin was surprisingly soft; something that Tino never expected him to be. The Finn smiled a little.

_Maybe we're not so different after all _he thought.

"Wh't 're you d'ing?" Berwald suddenly growled, focusing his deathly glare on the younger man.

Tino's blood froze.


	3. No More Denial

"I-I was just… I…" Tino's heart raced frantically for an excuse, but his brain came up with nothing. "Um… there was some dirt on your face?" he squeaked pathetically as soon as it popped into his mind. Berwald blinked in silence before speaking.

"M'st h've f'rg'tten to w'sh it off y'sterd'y." he muttered.

"Maybe…" Tino said quietly.

_That was a close one! I can't believe he actually believed that, though… _Tino thought, sighing a little in relief.

"Y'u may w'nt to put s'me cl'thes on b'fore you cl'n the st'bles." Berwald pointed out. Tino's flush rose to the tips of his ears. "F'nd ya on the r'verb'nk l'st n'ght."

"S-sorry about that…" Tino mumbled. "I was exhausted."

"It's ok'y." Berwald said. Tino jumped out of the bed and put his clothes on as quickly as possible before heading to the door.

"I'll be back." He said. Berwald said nothing; he simply looked at him, but not with that glare in his eyes.

Tino quickly exited and practically ran to the barn.

_He wasn't… blushing, was he? No, no, of course he wasn't! _Tino tried to convince himself. _ I'm a stable boy, and he's a knight; knights are supposed to court ladies, and men liking other men—_

"Ugh…" Tino growled in frustration.

_No, I _don't _like him like that… I'm simply a servant to him, that's all. _

….

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months before Tino knew it. In all of that time, his strange feelings for Berwald only grew stronger, but he was still nonetheless frightened of the man.

"'m goin' t' K'ng's f'st." Berwald said one afternoon.

"Really? That sounds exciting." Tino smiled. "Then I guess you'll be needing some help putting on your light armor?" Tino asked. Berwald nodded. Tino went to the case in the corner and took out the much lighter armor to help suit the man. He nearly had the chest plate on him before Tino noticed that something was off.

"Berwald… you have a rip in your tunic." He said.

"Hn?" Berwald turned his head to the back and looked down. "Gr't." he muttered, seeing a rather large gash in the back of his favorite maroon tunic. Before Tino knew what was going on, Berwald slipped it off his body and began looking for a new one. Tino's mouth dropped open a little and his knees quivered a tiny bit; he knew that Berwald was particularly fit, but he hadn't had a cluethat the man had the body of a _god._

Tino stared at his neatly-chiseled torso and felt himself get a little dizzy. He wanted nothing more than to—

_No, I'm not going to think about kissing him there! _Tino told himself sternly. However, he couldn't keep himself from staring in the slightest, and he nearly whined when Berwald found another tunic and slipped it on.

"T'no? Yer f'ce is r'd; 're you s'ck?" Berwald asked, interrupting Tino's thoughts as he pressed his hand gently against the smaller man's forehead.

"I'm f-fine!" Tino laughed nervously, feeling his face growing even hotter. "Uh… l-let's get that armor on you, shall we?"

…

Tino went straight to work when Berwald left to go to the feast. It was sweltering outside, and Tino constantly had to stop working for a few moments to wipe his brow in the stuffy barn. As soon as he finished brushing the last horse, he sat in the corner of the barn, sweating from the heat. His mind trailed to what happened with Berwald that afternoon, and he felt himself just get even hotter.

_That body… it's so perfect… _Tino swooned. Something uncontrollable stirred inside of him, something that threatened to burst like a dam after months of denial. Unable to take it any longer, Tino hid behind the post and closed his eyes, palming himself through his trousers.

His entire body flared with heat as he thought of Berwald's rigid muscles flexing over and over again, sweat dripping down like a river in the crevices of his abs, all the way down to the waistband of his pants—

Tino shuddered violently.

In no time at all, the desperate Finn was as hard as a rock. He couldn't kid himself anymore; he wanted Berwald so badly that he would do _anything _to have him, even just once.

He shoved his hand down his trousers, stroking his aching member and leaning his back against the wall.

"God, _Berwald_…" he groaned, his breath coming out in sharp pants. He freed his member from his trousers and stroked himself harder, completely convinced that Berwald had to be _very _much a man down there. The sweltering heat, Tino's unbearably erotic fantasies, and the complete forbiddance of the act proved to be too much for him; he felt himself coming very close.

_Almost there, _he thought frantically, beating himself off even faster.

"Berwald…!" he mewled. Suddenly, the barn door opened without warning.

"T'no? Are y'u in 'ere?" A voice asked. Tino froze.

_So close… so close! _He thought miserably. He barely breathed as Berwald began to walk around, looking for him. Tino silently pleaded for his 'problem' to go away, but his stirring hormones would have none of it; in fact, just looking at Berwald's prominent cheekbones just made the poor man even harder.

"T'no?" The Finn jumped nearly three feet in the air; he hadn't even noticed that the knight was so close to him.

"B-Berwald!" he stammered, his heart thumping madly. "I—"

"… Wh't 're you d'ng?" The confused Swede asked slowly. "I h'rd ya c'lling m

n'me wh'n I w's c'ming b'ck. I th'ght you w're in tr'ble."

"No, I'm fine! J-just go back to the house, everything's fine, I'm almost done with the stables!" Tino babbled in a jumbled mess. He squeezed his eyes shut, almost wanting to cry in embarrassment.

"… T'no, w're you—"

"Just go back!" he exclaimed, too mortified to even look at Berwald. After a moment, Tino suddenly felt a hand on his body, making him tense up.

_Oh God, he's going to kill me! _

"Berwald, I'm sorry—!" An unexpected kiss silenced the shorter man. Tino moaned in surprise for a moment before quickly turning into ecstasy. Berwald gently pressed the front of Tino's body to the wall and snaked his hand up his tunic.

"B-Berwald!" he squeaked, feeling rough, calloused fingers stroking his nipples, making him convulse. "What—"

"I've 'lways w'nted ya." He grunted in Tino's ear. "D'dn't kn'w you f'lt th' s'me 'bout me." Tino inhaled sharply as Berwald pinned him a little harder against the wall with his pelvis. Tino suddenly felt fingers in his mouth; he sucked them and ran his tongue all over the digits, getting them as wet as possible. Berwald trailed the said hand further and further down, until he brushed it against Tino's member.

"Ber—" The knight's other hand clapped his mouth shut in a split second.

"You kn'w th' p'nishm'nt if we're c'ght." He hissed. Tino nodded frantically as Berwald began to stroke his weeping member. It was absolutely torturous, the feeling of those heavenly fingers on him, and Tino let out a wail of desperation.

"Be qui't." Berwald growled. Tino could barely register what he said; he was on the brink of finishing with a few more strokes.

"Berwald…" he panted over and over again, scraping his fingernails against the wall. Within a minute, Tino couldn't hang on any longer.

"Ngh!" he choked, forcing the noise to stay inside of him as he came the hardest he'd ever done, erupting all over Berwald's hand.

Tino panted heavily, not believing what had just happened. He turned to Berwald, seeing a look of utter shock and… _amusement _in his normally cold, glaring eyes. Tino also noticed that Berwald had a problem of his own.

Wasting no time, Tino got to his knees and began to undo Berwald's trousers. A hand against his forehead pushed him away, and Tino looked up at the man in confusion.

"No, T'no; I m'st be ch'verlous to m' w'fe." Tino stood up immediately.

"Chivalrous to your _what_?"

….

**Oh Berwald, you and your wife-complex… Don't worry guys, as you can probably tell, I tend to update often for this story, mostly because I woke up this morning and found my email inbox full of story alerts and reviews for this. I went from being ****, like I usually am in the morning, to :'D. Sorry about how this is all completely historically inaccurate; I have no idea why I even started writing this, considering how the Nordic countries didn't have knights XD Thanks for the reviews, guys; they really keep me motivated **


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